>>33381987 (OP)Officially diagnozed OCD here. Here's what you do about intrusive thoughts. Realize that you cannot block them out. It doesn't work that way. You cannot stop unpleasant thoughts from entering your brain. And here's the thing, nobody can. Everyone has intrusive thoughts. What separates someone from OCD from a neurotypical is that the OCD guy actually engages with the intrusive thought through rumination and rituals, while the neurotypical just lets it pass by.
How do you stop rumination and rituals? Well, with rituals, you have to simply stop doing it. Easier said than done, but let's say for example you have to count to 20 in your head every time a red car passes, or your mom will die. If this is you, make an active effort to stop counting. You WILL be overwhelmed by anxiety, and it WILL suck, but having a strong fear reaction to this stimulus is something you have trained your mind to do throught rituals, and the fear reaction will only stop when the rituals stop.
>But if I don't count to 20, my mom will die.Maybe she will, but that's a risk you have to take. You have to let go of your desire to control all outcomes, and accept a lack of certainty as an inescapable part of life.
How do you prevent rumination? When an unpleasant thought appears in your head, and you can feel the gears in your head spinning, just postpone the rumination to a specific time. Make a mental note:
>I can't be bothered engaging with this right now. I'm gonna dwell on that thought when I'm in the shower later, right now I just wanna enjoy my coffee and listen to the radio.Postpone your worries and intrusive thougths to a specific time in the near future. When that time comes, you will have forgotten what the thought even was in the first place. Keep doing this whenever intrusive thoughts pop up and attempt to hijack your inner monologue, and you will literally teach yourself to not worry about things. I swear to you, this works; I have learned it from experts in the field.
